RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the State must control the spread of coqui frogs and other invasive species; and

WHEREAS, the State will lose the battle if aggressive management action is not taken; and

WHEREAS, near-term solutions are needed to fight the spread of coqui frogs and other invasive species; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the Senate concurring, that a task force be established to evaluate and recommend actions to prevent the spread of coqui frogs and other invasive species; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be established under the Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC) and consist of eight members as follows:

1. The Chairperson of HISC, or the Chairperson's designee, who will serve as the chair of the task force;
2. The Chairperson of the state Board of Agriculture, or the Chairperson's designee;
3. The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or the Secretary's designee;
4. The Dean of the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, or the Dean's designee;
5. One individual, selected by HISC, representing environmental interests;
6. One individual, selected by HISC, representing the landscaping industry;
7. One member of the House of Representatives, selected by the Speaker of the House; and
8. One member of the Senate, selected by the President of the Senate;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to provide administrative, clerical, and other staff support as necessary and appropriate; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to:

1. Investigate and recommend strategies to avoid accidentally spreading coqui frogs and other invasive species through the intraisland and interisland movement of agricultural products;
2. Investigate the movement of greenwaste and develop one or more statewide protocols to prevent greenwaste from becoming a pathway for the movement of coqui frogs and other invasive species; and
3. Report on the feasibility of installing intraisland and interisland treatment facilities for agricultural products, and include a budget, to provide a tool to prevent the movement of coqui frogs and other invasive species;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the protocol for greenwaste movement consider strategies, including but not limited to:

1. Not moving any greenwaste off of sites where the invasive species has been identified;
2. Developing county-level lists of invasive species that may be moved in greenwaste;
3. Developing treatment protocols for each priority species that will be carried out by the agency generating or transporting the greenwaste prior to the waste being moved off site;
4. Developing maps for species that may be moved locally via greenwaste, and monitoring protocols for all regularly used greenwaste recipient sites for all county-level priority species;
5. Identifying the party responsible for treating new infestations when priority invasive species are identified at the recipient sites;
6. Prohibiting state or county agencies from authorizing, funding, or carrying out any action that would likely cause or promote the introduction or spread of coqui frogs and other invasive species in Hawaii or to other states, territories or Pacific islands; and
7. Requiring all state and county agencies to consider interdiction issues when planning any activity that may cause the accidental introduction of coqui frogs and other invasive species to uninfested areas in Hawaii, other states, territories, or Pacific islands;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to research and report on the information gathered from case studies and economic analyses conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's T-STAR program and other applicable studies; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to report its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2007; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; Chairperson of the Hawaii Invasive Species Council; Chairperson of the state Board of Agriculture; Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and Dean of the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.

Report Title:

Preventing the spread of coqui frogs and other invasive species.